Mr Cowen described the 77-year-old Limerick-born Fr Finucane, who died yesterday from cancer at the Spiritan religious congregation's nursing home in Kimmage, Dublin, as "a great humanitarian".

Tom Arnold, chief executive of Concern Worldwide, said Fr Finucane inspired a whole generation of Concern overseas volunteers, and "there can be few Irish people, of his generation or of any other generation, who have contributed as much to improving the lives of so much of humanity".

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